Tag: tea party

Categories
Dessert

Turn to easy lemon cake when you’re squeezed for time

There are only three ingredients in this easy lemon cake (and one is optional). The best part is it can be served in slices to be eaten with a fork or as a finger food for your next gathering.
There are only three ingredients in this easy lemon cake (and one is optional). The best part is it can be served in slices to be eaten with a fork or as a finger food for your next gathering.

With plans to have company over recently, I was on the lookout for something easy to share for our snack table.

After perusing several websites, I landed on one of my favorite ways to make a quick sweet without working all that hard for it: a cake mix transformation.

The recipe I tried promised to produce lemon bars with only three ingredients—cake mix, pie filling and powdered sugar—and I decided I was in.

And these turned out well, although I wouldn’t really call these lemon “bars.” Because you use an angel food cake mix, these are more cake-like than bar-like, but they are still darn delicious, so regardless, you can’t argue with the results.

This comes from the blog “My Crazy Good Life” by Becca Ludlum. You can find the original post at https://mycrazygoodlife.com/3-ingredient-lemon-bars/. I didn’t add anything to this recipe, but I did leave something out when I made these. I didn’t feel like the extra powdered sugar was necessary.

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Easy Lemon Cake

There are only three ingredients in this easy lemon cake (and one is optional). The best part is it can be served in slices to be eaten with a fork or as a finger food for your next gathering.
Course Dessert
Keyword angel food, cake mix recipe, easy dessert, lemon bar, lemon pie filling, light dessert, powdered sugar, tea party

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces angel food cake mix
  • 21 ounces lemon pie filling
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a nine-by-13-inch pan by spraying it with cooking spray or coating the insides and bottom with butter, and then set it aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, mix the dry cake mix and the pie filling until everything is well combined.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.
  • Let the cake cool completely.
  • Once it’s cool, evenly sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top, if you want to use it (this is plenty sweet and tasty without it), and slice into pieces.
  • This can be served as a finger food or eaten with a fork. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

These had delicious lemon flavor without being overpowering. I think sometimes lemon bars tend to have a bit of a pucker factor that I’m not as big on, but these were light and tasty.

I was also really glad I left out the extra sugar. I think it would have taken away from the rest of the flavors.

I kept thinking these would be such a cute little dessert to serve at a tea party because of the lightness and the pretty pale yellow color. Putting a little strawberry sauce over the top would be absolutely delicious.

And despite the fact that these took almost no time or effort, our guests were happy to help us dig into them. Time in the kitchen can be very satisfying, but time with friends is much more rewarding.

This piece first appeared in print Feb. 27, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Cookies Dessert

Nothing is ‘butter’ than simple-to-make cookies

The recipe for these butter cookies uses only three ingredients but still yields crispy, delicious cookies, perfect for a snack with a cup of hot coffee or tea.
The recipe for these butter cookies uses only three ingredients but still yields crispy, delicious cookies, perfect for a snack with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

One of my favorite Internet memes is a photo of a blue Royal Dansk butter cookies tin.

The caption reads, “Why are there cookies in Grandma’s sewing kit?” It always makes me smile, mostly because I’m glad I wasn’t the only child who was fooled by the reuse of a cookie tin for storage.

What can be more disappointing than discovering thread and buttons in a place where you thought you might find a snack?

There is something great about a butter cookie. They have that hint of sugar, are a little crunchy and they are highlighted with that deep, satisfying flavor of real butter.

Whenever they’re around at Christmastime, I find them irresistible, and I’m clearly not alone, since this week’s recipe is actually originally from a viral video. The video features butter cookies made quickly and easily with only three ingredients: butter, sugar and flour.

Of course, I had to give it a try.

I found this recipe on a website called “I Love My Recipes.” You can find the original at https://ilovemyrecipes.com/these-brilliant-cookies-are-taking-the-internet-by-storm-3-ingredients-and-ready-in-no-time/. This was such a simple recipe, I didn’t add anything to my version.

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Three-ingredient Butter Cookies

The recipe for these butter cookies uses only three ingredients but still yields crispy, delicious cookies, perfect for a snack with a cup of hot coffee or tea.
Course Dessert
Keyword butter, cookies, simple

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
  • 2 1/4 cups flour

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, beat all three ingredients together to form a crumbly dough.
  • Dump the dough out onto a countertop or piece of waxed paper and squish it together into a log about two inches in diameter.
  • Roll the dough in sugar and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 320 degrees, and slice the log into about 3/4-inch slices. Place them an inch apart on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. They will spread out a little but won’t get overly brown—just around the edges.
  • Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets before transferring them to an airtight container.

Don’t be discouraged if your dough doesn’t come together immediately. It takes a little effort to get it to finally stop flaking apart and stick together—just keep messing with it.

These cookies aren’t overly sweet and are absolutely delicious dunked into a cup of coffee. If you wanted them to be a bit sweeter, you could coat the sliced cookies in sugar before baking them, too.

The recipe only made about one and one-half dozen cookies, the perfect amount if you’re just looking to satisfy your sweet tooth without too much temptation.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a blue tin on hand to put my cookies in, but I think I’ll still enjoy them just as much, even if I don’t have a new storage place for my needles and bobbins when my cookies are all gone.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 23, 2021.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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